The disclosure relates to an electronic control module, in particular for a transmission controller, and to a method for producing such an electronic control module.
In motor vehicle engineering, electronic control modules which can be arranged on the transmission and in the transmission fluid are used for actuating the transmission. The control modules can have, for example, electrical components such as plugs, sensors, actuators, at least one encapsulated control unit (TCU, transmission control unit) and, if appropriate, further components which are attached to a central carrier and are subjected to the transmission fluid. The arrangement in the transmission fluid is very challenging for the design technology and connecting technology of the components on the carrier of the electronic control module, since the electrical connections have to be able to withstand high alternating temperature stresses as well as the transmission fluid with metal swarf contained therein in an unfavorable case. In the prior art, cut matrices which are encapsulated by injection molding as well as rigid printed circuit boards or flexible printed circuit boards (referred to as flex foils) are used as carriers of the electrical connecting technology.
A customary contact-forming technology of electrical components on printed circuit boards consists in soldering electrical connection elements of the components using plug-through mounting in contact-forming openings of the printed circuit board. Therefore, for example, US 2009/0176402 A1 and US 2008/0144260 A1 show plug parts whose connection elements are soldered into vias of the printed circuit board. A disadvantage of this connecting technology for the application in transmission oil is that the connection elements project through onto the underside of the printed circuit board and covers and protective measures are therefore necessary on the underside in order to prevent depositing of metal swarf and resulting short-circuits.
Recently, electronic control modules have been developed for a transmission controller, which control modules preferably use a rigid printed circuit board as a carrier of the electrical connecting technology, wherein electrical components can be applied to the printed circuit board using surface mounting. Therefore, an electronic control module with a printed circuit board which is applied on a carrier plate is known form DE 10 2011 088 335 A1. An electronic SMD component has connection elements with connection sections which run parallel to the component side of the printed circuit board and are soldered to corresponding contact areas on the component side of the printed circuit board. The contact areas referred to as solder areas in DE 10 2011 088 335 A1 are electrically connected to conductor tracks in the interior of the printed circuit board using VIAs (Vertical Interconnected Access), which are also referred to as intermediate connectors or vias. DE 10 2011 088 335 A1 proposes a holding-down device in order to press the connection sections onto the contact area during the soldering process and to prevent the connection section from rebounding out of the liquid solder.
In addition, DE 2011 088 620 A1 discloses an electronic circuit for an automatic transmission of a motor vehicle, in which automatic transmission a plug housing is secured to a printed circuit board by means of a latching element, and a connection pin of the plug housing has a wire section which is introduced into a metalized via of the printed circuit board and soldered therein. Furthermore, DE 100 62 962 A1 discloses inserting large electrical components into a holding frame and applying the component together with the holding frame to the printed circuit board, wherein the connection pins which are arranged on the holding frame are introduced into the printed circuit board through vias and soldered to said printed circuit board.